Trump’s approval plummets to 36 per cent
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s standing with Americans has deteriorated since the spring, buffeted by perceptions of a decline in U.S. leadership abroad, a stalled presidential agenda at home and an unpopular Republican healthcare bill, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Approaching six months in office, Trump’s overall approval rating has dropped to 36 per cent from 42 per cent in April. His disapproval rating has risen five points to 58 per cent. Overall, 48 per cent say they “disapprove strongly” of Trump’s performance in office, a level never reached by former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and reached only in the second term of George W. Bush.
Almost half of all Americans (48 per cent) see the country’s leadership in the world as weaker since Trump was inaugurated, compared with 27 per cent who say it is stronger. Despite the fact Trump campaigned as someone skilled at making deals that would be good for the U.S., majorities also say they do not trust him in negotiations with foreign leaders and in particular Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Just over a third say they trust the president either “a great deal” or “a good amount” in any such foreign negotiations. Asked about Trump-Putin negotiations, almost two in three do not trust the president much, including 48 per cent who say they do not trust the president “at all.”
The Post-ABC poll finds 60 per cent of Americans think Russia tried to influence the election outcome, up slightly from 56 per cent in April. Some 44 per cent suspect Russian interference and think Trump benefited from their efforts. Roughly four in 10 believe members of Trump’s campaign intentionally aided Russian efforts to influence the election, though suspicions have changed little since the spring.
Americans’ views on Russia’s role in the election continue to divide along partisan lines. Among Democrats, eight in 10 believe Russia attempted to influence the election and more than six in 10 think Trump’s team attempted to aid their efforts. But among Republicans, one-third think Russia tried to influence the election outcome, and fewer than one in 10 think Trump’s associates sought to help them.
Asked about Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with the Russians, more than six in 10 say the meeting was inappropriate, with just about a quarter approving. But almost half of all Republicans call the meeting appropriate.
Suspicions of Trump Sr. have eased at least slightly on one front. While 52 per cent think he is trying to interfere with investigations into Russia’s possible election interference, that’s down slightly from 56 per cent in June.
The president’s strongest assets continue to be the healthy economy and a view among many Americans that the Democrats do not have a coherent message or program in opposition, other than opposition to the president.
Trump’s approval rating on the economy, in contrast to his overall rating, is about one-toone, with 43 per cent giving him positive marks and 41 per cent giving him negative ratings.
On one key issue in the debate over the Republican health-care plan, the public by 63 to 27 per cent says it is more important for the government to provide health coverage to low-income people rather than cutting taxes.
The Post-ABC poll was conducted July 10-13 among a random national sample of 1,001 adults reached on cellular and landline phones. The margin of sampling error for overall results is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.